US independent power producer (IPP) Silicon Ranch has invested US$3 million in autonomous robotics company Swap Robotics.
As part of the investment, Swap Robotics will welcome Silicon Ranch co-founder and CEO Reagan Farr to its board of directors.
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Swap Robotics’ fully electric, autonomous mowers align with Silicon Ranch subsidiary Regenerative Energy’s ambitions to restore soil health, enhance biodiversity, and promote sustainable land stewardship across solar project sites.
Furthermore, Farr added that over the past few years, its team has evaluated various alternatives to support the managed livestock grazing carried out by its shepherds and company-owned sheep.
“Following a successful pilot of Swap Robotics’ technology, we determined that the mission, operational model, and strong leadership team at Swap Robotics align well with our vision of innovatively scaling a fully integrated agrivoltaics program that can be deployed across our fleet from coast to coast,” said Farr.
This investment from Silicon Ranch followed previous significant backing for the Ontario, Canada-based Swap Robotics, including a US$3 million from US solar tracker supplier Array Technologies in November 2024. With the potential for two additional US$1 million tranches tied to performance milestones, the funding was part of Swap’s Pre-Series A round. The company was developing automated module installation solutions aimed at reducing costs for ground-mounted solar project developers and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPCs) companies.
In October 2022, the company received investment from US EPC contractor SOLV Energy, as part of a joint agreement to explore new robotics applications across utility-scale solar PV sites in the US. The collaboration aimed to fast-track the development of advanced autonomous technologies for solar operations.
Tennessee-based Silicon Ranch owns 50,000 acres and operates 3.6GW of solar PV, with 3.7GW under construction and a 12+GW development pipeline aiming to exceed 10GW by 2030. Recently, it secured a $500 million investment from Danish fund manager AIP Management to support its growth.
In February 2025, Microsoft signed a multi-year agreement with Silicon Ranch through its carbon solutions platform, Clearloop, to deploy up to 100MW of community-focused solar projects. Silicon Ranch will develop, own, and operate these solar PV projects, primarily in underserved communities in Arkansas and Louisiana. The first four projects are set to break ground in the coming months, with three in Arkansas and one in Louisiana.
